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The saga started with a solitary photograph, arguably the most impactful ever taken of a royal family member.

Present was the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a young woman, while an associate beamed knowingly in the background.

Without that snapshot, taken at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a young woman who stated she was transported across the ocean and compelled to have cursory relations with a member of the royal bloodline?

A strange, indicative gesture by someone who had overtly claimed to have not heard of her, asserted he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a large amount of family funds to settle a drawn-out legal case.

Over a Decade of Controversy

Considering this, talk of the royal family acting firmly to cut Andrew off are misguided. This controversy has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and another photo of Andrew walking amiably with a disgraced financier surfaced.

• Hubris: How long did his family members, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his aides and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable friends given he openly invited them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Journeys were listed in official documents: private aircraft transfers from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the presumption which required deference when he walked into a room or the supreme awareness about his designations used on his letterheads in messages to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who strangely spoiled him, was still alive. The monarch did at least revoke him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his disastrous and, it is now clear, mendacious television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last fortnight that events sped up, following the publication of books giving more disturbing details of his conduct and that of his associates.

More information have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid lying about his relationship with a notorious figure.

The public (and the press) were far ahead of the royal family. There was no one of any importance to defend him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The more astute royals realized that. The one imperative is to hand down the crown, if not as before at least complete and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of earlier rulers, proving they are useful, dutiful and attentive to their people.

His actions endangered all that in danger in an time when submission and discretion is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Eventually, the notoriously hesitant king was pressured more. There was no alternative. The royal household had surrendered command of the narrative.

Currently the removal of titles and the continued and permanent social disgrace that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Reduction: Demoted to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The primary royal to lose his designations in contemporary era
• Military Service: Especially hurtful given his duty in the conflict

He remains a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but neither of these will truly come to pass.

Coming Developments

Do individuals he comes across still defer to him? Could they still slip up and call him Sir? Will they even say Andrew,

Of course, he is not withdrawing to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's extensive estate at Sandringham.

In that place, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some sort of personal stipend.

This differs from his former home, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Pending Matters

Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the possession of American legislators to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the waste of public money
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his behavior

Perhaps for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the institution is limited. The message from the institution was plainly that the removal of designations was what the king, and especially other senior monarchical figures, wanted.

Altered Approach

No more deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the concise announcement showed clearly that the royals were siding with the accuser's narrative of incidents.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they finally showed regard for the affected individuals: "These actions are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the reality that he continues to deny the claims against him."

In the end it is entitlement, selfishness and indolence that will kill the institution. In his folly, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew seems never to have grasped that truth.